Mining Africa

Law, Environment, Society and Politics in Historical and Multidisciplinary Perspectives

This book is a pacesetter in the study of mining and the environment in Africa from multidisciplinary and spatio-temporal perspectives. The book approaches mining from the perspectives of law, politics, archaeology, anthropology, African studies, geography, human ecology, sociology, history, economics and development. It interrogates mining and environment from the perspectives of customary law as well as from the perspectives of modern Euro-law. The book covers precolonial, colonial and postcolonial mining and environmental perspectives. It maintains a Pan-Africanist perspective that also speaks to contemporary debates on African Renaissance and to the unity of Africa. From scrutinising the lived realities of African miners who are often referred to as “illegal” miners, the book also interrogates transnational mining corporations; matters of corporate social responsibility as well as matters of tax evasion by transnational corporations whose accountability to African governments is questioned. With both theoretical chapters and chapters based on empirical studies of mining and the environment across the African continent, the book provides a much needed holistic, one stop shop for scholars, activists, researchers and policy makers who need a comprehensive treatise on African mining and the environment.

With both theoretical chapters and chapter based on empirical studies on mining and the environment across the African continent, the book provides a much needed holistic, one stop shop for scholars, activists, researchers and policy makers who need a comprehensive treatise on African mining and the environment. The book comes at the right time when matters of African mining and environment are increasingly coming to the fore in the light of discourses about the new 21st century scramble for African resources, in which big transnational corporations and nations are jostling to suck Africa dry in their race to control planetary resources. It is a book that speaks to contemporary broader issues of (de-)coloniality and transformation of African minds and African environmental resources.

About Us

The mission of Langaa Research and Publishing Common Initiative Group (Langaa RPCIG) is to contribute to the cultural development and renaissance of Africa. This is achieved by conducting research, providing training in research and writing, and publishing and promoting African scholarship and creative writing. Langaa, not set up for monetary profit-making, is supported by founding members and other contributors, financial grants and efforts of volunteers. Langaa is physically located in Bamenda and Buea (Cameroon), although its members and volunteers operate from different parts of the world.
So far, Langaa has published over 500 titles, mainly on Cameroon, but also on other African countries like Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Outstanding scholars and ordinary people familiar with the Cameroonian and African context provide editorial guidance. Each manuscript is systematically reviewed before a publication decision. Peer reviews, reader reports, and editorial changes are stored as evidence of the rigour of Langaa ’s processes.